Tackling Case Studies

It’s time to make your case and impress assessors during a case study session!

What?

Case study exercises can be used for both individuals and groups. During the exercise, you will usually be given some information about a work-related scenario and asked to imagine that you’re part of a group of experts giving advice to a client or superior on the basis of the evidence.

This will probably be carried out over a period of a few hours, and you’ll likely have to make a presentation to the assessors at the end. You may also be drip-fed additional information to assess at specific intervals throughout the allocated time.

When?

Case studies are particularly popular in assessment centres for graduate jobs in banking, financial services, accountancy and management consulting. However, they can also be part of assessments for other business sectors and industries.

It’s also important to note that they’re typically based on real-life business developments.

How to approach them

You need to be clear about what you’re being asked to do. Start by reading through the information pack and assessing which parts of the information are relevant.

Understand the problem, your role and your objectives inside out. Don’t be afraid to ask for more information or clarification about something from your assessors if you’re unsure.

If you’re working in a group, you can divide the tasks. For instance, you can nominate someone to assess any new information passed to the group during the course of the exercise. You’ll also need someone to manage the time taken for each task, so ensure that your group has a timekeeper.

Don’t dominate discussions, but do contribute to them – you should articulate what you’re thinking so your assessors can see how you approach problems.

Remember to allocate time to prepare for your final presentation, and be realistic about how much you can fit into it.

Lastly, don’t lose sight of your objectives! Your final presentation should be relevant, clear and concise, and should also include a summary of your conclusions and recommendations.

What assessors look for in case studies

• Analytical skills • Problem-solving skills • Time management • Teamwork • Commercial awareness • Presentation abilities

Case study example

The following example is based off a genuine case study used by a multinational investment bank. It should give you some idea of what to expect:

The scenario: The task: Note:

A large publisher of magazines and books is looking to make a significant acquisition.

It has identified a target company and approached a number of investment banks for their views on the merits of a potential deal and a target price.

Based on these presentations, the publisher will decide whether to proceed with a bid. If they do, select one bank to act as their advisor. Your team is one of the investment banks bidding to win the mandate. You need to analyse the figures provided to review the marketplace, your potential client – the publisher – and the target company. You must also prepare a five-minute presentation giving your recommendations. You may either be provided with a wealth of raw data alongside the scenario, or you and your group may have to dig up all the necessary information by yourselves somehow.

Either way, you’ll need to crystallise all this information into a workable action plan that you can present to your assessors.

Can I practise for these?

Yes, you can! Here are some ways you can prepare for case studies: • Find out about the kind of business decisions the company you’re applying to have to make, or has made, recently • You’ll need a bird’s-eye view of the current economic environment. Scour the business pages of newspapers or magazines to get a feel for current business activity • Practise your mental arithmetic, as you may have to demonstrate your quantitative abilities without a calculator • Talk to any relevant industry contacts or mentors you have to learn more about any new developments. You can also bounce various scenarios off them to see if your recommendations are sound • There’s often more than one way to solve a problem.

Get into the habit of brainstorming multiple approaches instead of sticking to a single textbook solution • Check in with the career services centre on your campus.

They may run workshops or relevant presentations on case studies. Join any practise sessions they host until you become familiar with the format

Keep in mind that though case studies help assessors see how you cope with the unfamiliar, research will still boost your confidence and help you tackle issues in a more informed way.